Senators voted to advance the Respect for Marriage Act in a 62-37 vote, setting the stage for passage by the upper chamber of Congress. A total of 60 votes are needed to limit debate on the legislation.
The bill requires the US federal government to recognize a marriage between two individuals if the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed and guarantees full faith and credit between states to valid marriages.
However, the bill does not require US states to issue marriage licenses contrary to their laws.
A bipartisan amendment to the legislation confirms that non-profit religious organizations will not be required to provide any services or goods for the celebration of same sex marriages, clarifies that the bill does not require or authorize recognition of polygamous marriages and prevents the bill from being used to diminish or repeal protections such as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
"Through bipartisan collaboration, we’ve crafted commonsense language to confirm that this legislation fully respects and protects Americans’ religious liberties and diverse beliefs, while leaving intact the core mission of the legislation to protect marriage equality," a bipartisan group of senators said in a statement on Monday.
The bill was passed by the US House of Representatives in July. Once passed by the Senate, the lower chamber will consider the amended version of the legislation before approving the bill to be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.
Congress is currently meeting in a so-called "lame duck" session, occurring in the time between elections and the new class of lawmakers taking office in January. Democrats retained a majority in the Senate following midterm elections, while Republicans are slated to win a majority in the US House.